Review: Slade House by David Mitchell

Time is,
Time was,
Time is not

What a bonus it is to have a new David Mitchell book only a year after the incredible The Bone Clocks. David Mitchell started this story on twitter but became obsessed with the story he had started and needed to see it through. The result is a ghost story in the hands and imagination of David Mitchell with is scary, compelling and amazing.

Some authors when they right shorter fiction can dilute themselves but with David Mitchell it is the opposite. Instead everything you love about David Mitchell is distilled into a story you will have to try very hard not to read in one go. Regardless of this book being a third of the length of The Bone Clocks or Cloud Atlas all the elements that make a David Mitchell novel something outstanding are all here. The four parts of the novel each have four distinct narrators and styles. Each part is set nine years apart and David Mitchell captures each different time as only he can. And despite there only being 233 pages David Mitchell’s imagination still soars.

Slade House is both a classic ghost story and a reinterpretation for the 21st century. Firmly set within the David Mitchell universe fans will love spotting all the different connections and there is even a hint of where David Mitchell will go next. If you haven’t read him before this is the perfect starter. All the wondrous flavours and tastes are here to relish and enjoy. I promise you you will be addicted in no time.